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Mortgages and TX AG Abbot SPAM suit

It’s rather obvious that the feds want people to refinance their credit card debts into their houses and generally try to make it as easy as possible for homeowners to get cash out of their homes - so that people buy lots of crap they don’t need and keep the economy going.

I believe that’s the primary reason for Congress legalizing spam and preempting anti spam state laws - I certainly can’t think of any legitimate reason to legalize spam.

On the bright side, check this TX AG news release:

Attorney General Abbott Files First Texas Lawsuit For Violation Of E-mail Spam Laws

This lawsuit focuses on spam not complying with the CAN Spam Act and especially misleading and false advertisements.

“… Ryan Samuel Pitylak, a University of Texas at Austin student, and Mark Stephen Trotter of California, are named in the Attorney General’s federal complaint as controlling PayPerAction L.L.C., Leadplex L.L.C. and Leadplex Inc., three companies registered in Nevada. One watchdog group, SpamHaus.org, ranks the defendants as the fourth largest illegal spam operation in the world. ...”

At MOST, we’ll see a temporary reduction in spam.

There must be thousands of Anthony Ferlantis ready to earn their bounty from scummy companies like Ameriquest and Dana Capital Group.

As long as we have mortgage companies PAYING for the illegally obtained mortgage leads, we will have spam.

This is no different than the drug problem: as long as we have users, we’ll have illegal drugs.

However, while we spend billions of dollars on building prisons and arresting, convicting and incarcerating *drug users*—absolutely NOTHING is done about the criminals who finance the spammers.

In the Austin, TX, Federal Complaint they describe the false and misleading subjects and content:

“In other mortgage related e-mails, Defendants represent that they will take extensive steps to help find the best rate and mortgage available for the recipient. For example, one such email represents that Defendants search “over 300 lenders” and “match you instantly with the lowest rate lender.” (Exhibit 4-5)

28. In truth and in fact, Defendants are not licensed mortgage brokers or mortgage bankers and are therefore legally prohibited from offering or providing any lending packages. ...”

These e-mails sound exactly like the ones I get:
11/24/04 - 173 spams including 30 mortgage spams, Happy Thanksgiving!

You have to be brain dead to not see what’s going on, how the money flows, and why the government (from state banking and real estate departments to Congress) condones all these illegal activities.

Occasionally, someone like Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich forgets what it’s all about:

“… While initially stating that that portion of the subprime industry was veering close to a breakdown, he later called that phrasing too strong. But pointing to the higher delinquency rates in the subprime market and the fact many subprime borrowers are highly leveraged, he said it might be time to look with a little more jaundiced eye at some practices. ...”

It doesn’t take long until he remembers to tone down his concerns.

The entire article:

Subprime lending a worry for Fed exec

By Sue Kirchhoff, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich expressed concern Wednesday about some lending practices in the subprime mortgage market and said the central bank was closely monitoring the overall housing sector for signs of price speculation.

During a panel discussion on housing, Gramlich said mortgage brokers, who make about half the subprime loans, might not have incentives for careful underwriting.

Subprime lenders offer higher-interest loans to borrowers with poor credit ratings who may not qualify for prime financing. Most subprime loans are resold on the secondary market.

“The subprime incidence of mortgage brokers without a lot at stake in the game is getting pretty high,” Gramlich said.

While initially stating that that portion of the subprime industry was veering close to a breakdown, he later called that phrasing too strong. But pointing to the higher delinquency rates in the subprime market and the fact many subprime borrowers are highly leveraged, he said it might be time to look with a little more jaundiced eye at some practices.

Some organizations representing mortgage brokers have endorsed tighter oversight, while others have laid out best lending practices.

Overall, Gramlich said, the Fed was closely watching U.S. home sales, which have been setting volume and price records in recent years. But he said the housing market did not qualify for specific monetary policy treatment at this point.

Gramlich said while housing price bubbles were possible, there were other reasons, such as land shortages, for strong price run-ups.

“We are always looking for signs that some relative prices are out of line,” Gramlich said. “It’s certainly possible it’s a bubble, but it’s also possible, for various reasons, the cost of housing has shifted.”